Awry
by Hezaia
Summary: It had been a great plan. In theory. In practice on the other hand? It was a freaking train wreck. It was a freaking train wreck and he had just abducted a small child. "Small child!" came an indignant hiss. "I'm fourteen and a half!"
1. Chapter 1

_**What is this?**_ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **-o0oOo0o-**

It had been a great plan. In theory. In practice on the other hand?

" _Hey! Let me go, you bastard!"_

It was a fucking train wreck.

It was a fucking train wreck and he had just abducted a small child.

" _Small child?!"_ came an indignant hiss. "I'm fourteen and a half!"

Yeah, as if that somehow made it better. Still, Tyki had his reasons. He had his reasons and he had gone through entirely too much shit as of late to back down now. "Yeah, whatever, but pipe it down. And stop wiggling. I might just drop you if you don't."

The boy stilled and looked down. Going by the look on his face, he only then really noticed that Tyki was not standing on some rooftop but rather on top of the air itself. "Oh, that'd probably hurt."

Yeah, no shit. "I'd say the fall would kill you if I didn't know how hard it is to kill you."

"Same to you, arsehole!" Allen Walker hissed. "Now will you let me down or what?"

Tyki was halfway tempted to let go right then and there, to see just how well the boy would fare after suffering injuries from a fifty-foot drop. But alas, Tyki had not come all this way to drop future nuisances from moderate heights, and as such, he stepped back down as if descending an invisible staircase. Then, once he reached the ground, he finally let the boy wiggle free. "There. Happy?"

The boy actually bared his teeth at him in a definite not-smile. "Ecstatic."

Yeah, as if. Still− "We should probably switch locations. I'd rather not have this conversation out in the open."

The boy readily scoffed at that. "Come on," he said at last, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I know a place."

 **-o0oOo0o-**

Fifteen minutes later found them in a secluded area behind one of the temples. Going by the looks and sounds of it, there seemed to be some sort of Hindu festival in the works.

"Well, you made it back as well," Allen Walker said where he sat, arms folded across his chest. "Must've been quite a surprise for you."

Yep. "It was quite a nasty surprise to be honest, even if this was what we aimed for. Well, more or less."

Allen snorted slightly at that, leaning his back against the wall. "Well, being abducted out of the blue was also a fairly nasty surprise. I thought we'd agreed not to associate ahead of time if we both made it back."

True. Still− "There were no guarantees, so I obviously had to confirm it. After all, in the offhand case that I had made it back but not you, I'd certainly have had my work cut out for me, don't you think?"

Allen kicked up an eyebrow at that. "And that translates to suddenly abducting me how exactly?"

Tyki heaved a sigh at that; he desperately wanted to smoke, but he was freshly out of cigarettes and now was not the time to buy more. "Okay, look: I've been back for about a week and a half and I've spent a lot of that time tracking you down. And it was not easy, let me tell you that, having to be discreet and all. And, for the record, I hadn't exactly planned on all of this, but then you oh so conveniently stepped out right in front of me. I mean, what was I supposed to do?"

Allen shot Tyki a decidedly exasperated look and then buried his face in his hands. "If it'd been my past self, he'd probably taken off a finger or two," Allen muttered before looking up at Tyki once more. "But I get it: You saw me, I saw you and you panicked."

Well, truth to be told− "You almost blurted out my name, in public. What if there was someone listening. Imagine what it'd look like."

"And you just up and decided to kidnap me," Allen retorted. "Imagine what that'd look like."

Yeah, Tyki could imagine. Sort of. And for that exact reason, there was a need to ensure that word of it never reached the ears of the Duke or for that matter the Order. "Well, in any case, we−" he began, about to close in on the distance when he was forced to dodge an incoming projectile.

" _Tim!"_ Allen gasped, all while Tyki moved to dodge the jaws of the surprisingly aggressive and surprisingly sizeable golem.

Granted, Tyki could have used his ability more freely. But he didn't exactly want to call any unnecessary attention to himself, and in the offhand case that there were any akuma nearby, Tyki would rather not alert any of them to his current location. Instead, he took a few steps back.

As predicted, the thing placed itself in-between him and Allen, wings flapping, tail swishing and teeth bared in a blatant show of aggression. It didn't continue attacking though, but it likely would, should he move even a tiny bit closer. "Boy…"

Thankfully, the boy understood and yanked the thing down by its tail. The action caused some irritation, going by the movements. Even so, it took only about a minute before Allen had the thing perched upon his knee, shrunken down to a more manageable size. That said, the thing, Timcanpy if Tyki was not mistaken, was still baring its teeth at him, behaving very much like a dog trying to protect its master. All things considered, it was probably not all that far off from the truth. "It's okay, Tim," Allen mumbled, petting the thing. "We're just talking."

Yeah, they were, but Tyki was not all too sure about talking in that thing's presence. After all, there was really no telling who could ultimately end up viewing those recordings, was there?

"It's okay," Allen insisted, keeping his hand on top of the thing. "Timcanpy can keep a secret."

Tyki would have loved to argue, he really would. But alas, there was little time for such with so many details to work out. "Well, first things first: We need to make adjustments to the plan."

Or throw it out or the window altogether; Tyki certainly knew which alternative he preferred. In any case− "We've arrived roughly a year ahead of schedule. And so, the question is: Do we start early, thereby risking fucking up in new and interesting ways, or should we aim to repeat what we did last time around?"

Allen screwed his eyes shut, pinching the ridge of his nose. He looked as though the entire concept was giving him a headache; Tyki found that he could very much relate. "Too many important things happen one year from now," Allen finally said, staring down at his hand. "If we fuck that up ahead of schedule, then we'll definitely lose the advantage of knowing what's coming."

On one hand, yeah, sure. On the other though− "That depends entirely on how we decide to play though, doesn't it?"

That earned him a decidedly irritated stare. "We can't," Allen finally said, curling slightly into himself. "And even if we can, we shouldn't, not yet."

"It'd probably save a lot of people though," Tyki added, not so innocently, looking on as the boy grimaced. "And severely hamper the Duke and his forces, don't you think?"

The boy bit into his bottom lip at that; Tyki could tell that he was tempted, and who could blame him, really? After all, if they hijacked the Noah's Ark ahead of time and managed to keep Road and the Duke out long enough to destroy the Akuma Plant, then it would take time and resources to rebuild it, and if they also managed to get away with the Ark itself, then it would take away the freedom of mobility offered by the Ark gates. In other words, doing so would have evened the playing field significantly, giving the Order a fair chance to fight, even if it also meant making Allen and by default also Tyki prime targets for elimination. Still−

"A year ago, I would have done it," Allen finally divulged, staring down at his hands now and at Timcanpy nestled in-between them. "No hesitation whatsoever. But now− Now−"

He trailed off, eyes becoming distant. "Now I've realised that I must bear their lives on my conscience, because if we lose this fight−" Again. "−then even more people will die. I've realised that I cannot risk it."

It had to have been a painful decision; that much was perfectly obvious. Still− "Then I'm glad we're on the same page. Still, if we want to change the outcome, we still have to start from somewhere, don't we?"

Allen closed his eyes again, evidently weary. "Roughly one year from now, _Master_ will knock me unconscious with a mallet and send a letter of recommendation to Komui," he finally said, looking up at Tyki. "Last time around, it took me about a month and a half to travel from Agra to London."

Hoh. "If memory serves me right, then I was still touring Eastern Europe at the time. And you and I met the first time around maybe a bit less than a month after that, right around the time we got summoned back to the Duke…"

…Which was right around the time when they had officially launched the hunt for the Heart, wasn't it? Maybe a bit after…

"So, what's the plan? You do your thing, I do my thing, we meet up on the train in about a year and−"

The boy held up a hand to stop him, sombre expression gradually morphing into an unnerving grin. "Don't worry about it. I promise I'll come for you eventually. You should just enjoy yourself in the meantime."

Yeah, but enjoying himself while acutely aware that unless they played their cards right and kept them close to their chests would hardly be easy, seeing that there would be some very dire, basically world-ending consequences if either of them got caught. Well, that and certain, painful death, obviously.

It was a good thing that Wisely's awakening was still many months away. Because of mindreading, that's why. Speaking of awakening though− "He isn't… awake, is he?"

The smile directed his way was decidedly humourless. "Do you really think you'd still be in one piece if he was?"

Well, fair point. Still− "He could be waiting for the right opportunity to strike though?"

He got a dismissive wave at that. "Oh _puh-lease_ , he's moody as shit but he's a heavy sleeper. As long as no one stabs me with Innocence, it should be fine−"

"If memory serves me right, _you_ stabbed yourself with Innocence."

"Yeah, but−" the boy began, somewhat flustered. "I wasn't thinking clearly, okay? Besides, the second time it was all Kanda's fault."

Yeah, as if that somehow made it better. "Okay, look, let's just agree that we both at least _try_ not to get stabbed this time around. By ourselves or by proxy." Tyki extended his hand. "Let's shake on it, boy."

Allen looked from him to the hand and then back again. The golem bared its teeth, wings twitching as Allen picked it up, placing it on the crown of his head. "We might as well."

The hand was smaller than Tyki remembered, not by much, but there was still an obvious difference. Then there was the height, obviously. "Do try to grow a few inches until next time. It's very hard to take you seriously when you're this short."

The boy very pointedly dug his nails into Tyki's hand, his smile bright but no doubt forced. "Do try to grow a pair until next time. It'll be so much more enjoyable to kick you then."

Ouch. Still, Tyki rather doubted that the boy would actually feel inclined to do that. Besides, Tyki could always choose not to let him land a hit so− "I'm looking forward to it," Tyki said, giving the hand a final squeeze before letting go.

The boy reclaimed his hand, rubbing while mumbling something about masochism. Hah. That said, maybe Tyki was a tiny bit of a masochist, all things considered, because he was definitely setting himself up for some major pain later on. Still, he didn't enjoy it. Not at all.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

"See you later then, Cheating Boy A."

 **-o0oOo0o-**


	2. Chapter 2

_**What am I doing?**_ **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0oOo0o-**

It was not much of a plan, to be honest, but it was something at least. Something to look forward to, but also something to dread. That said− "Hey. I thought we'd set up a proper non-stabbing agreement."

"We did," a quiet voice hissed, and the kni−No, the tip of a claw pressed down harder on his throat. "But what about slashing?"

Oooh, loopholes. Still− "I really don't think you should try that one again. It ended fairly badly for both of us last time around. Besides, I don't recall having done anything recently that would merit such a−"

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Allen growled, Innocence invoked and hackles raised, enunciating each word _veeeery_ clearly.

Fortunately, Tyki had an answer to that. "Well, I went out to buy cigarettes and now I'm being held at claw-point."

Unfortunately, Tyki's answer did not receive a warm welcome, as the claw just pressed down harder. " _Here_. In. _Gibraltar_."

Point. Still− "Shouldn't _I_ be the one asking that question, boy? I mean, shouldn't _you_ be in London right about now?"

A second went past, followed by another, followed by yet another. Then finally, the air shimmered and the cancelled invocation left nothing but air and a blackened limb in its wake. Tyki barely resisted an impulse to grab the latter, because that would have been asking for it – it being a knee to the groin. Well, that and a general hissy fit probably, if the narrow-eyed look sent his way served as any sort of indication. "Why have you been keeping track of my movements?" Allen demanded.

Ugh, really? "To know which places to avoid, obviously." Technically true. Anyways− "I know this is sudden and all, but in any case: Wanna head back to my place?"

Going by the slight twitch of the boy's features, the underlying connotations of Tyki's poorly phrased invitation had not passed by unnoticed. "Is it safe?"

It was as safe as anything, really. Still, no one really had any good reason to be monitoring Tyki's hotel room, so− "Probably."

 **-o0oOo0o-**

After buying his smokes, Tyki returned alone, casually strode inside his hotel room, put a 'Do Not Disturb'-sign on the door and then retreated back inside, locking the door behind him. Because, unfortunately, there happened to be this rather persistent housekeeper who couldn't seem to catch a hint and seemed to have developed the unfortunate misconception that Tyki was some rich bachelor looking for a fling. Or a wife. In any case, Tyki wasn't interested. Really.

"Frankly, I'd expected it to be dirtier."

Really. "Give it time; I've only had it since last night."

The exorcist, who Tyki had just admitted through the window, quickly advanced to one side of the room and ran his finger along the top of a framed painting, checking for dust. "Still, this seems needlessly extravagant for someone who picked the hobo life over fancy dinner parties," he commented.

Fair enough. Still− "I figured I could use a change of pace. It's only supposed to be for a couple of days anyway. That said, speaking about money and luxuries and privilege and such−" Pulling the window back shut, Tyki turned to face his guest, who just nonchalantly stepped past him. "−Why aren't you in London?"

Instead of answering, the boy just threw himself unto the bed, not even taking his shoes off. "It's decided," the boy said, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm crashing here tonight."

O-kay? "One: That's my bed. Two: You didn't answer my question, boy."

"I already went to London," Allen responded, hands behind his head.

"So?" Tyki pressed on, watching as the golem pushed itself out of one of Allen's coat pockets; it looked a bit tousled, funnily enough.

"And then I caught a ship down here."

Tyki was not sure he liked where this was headed. "And they just let you do that? No strings attached?"

"They?"

Oh boy− "Boy, weren't you supposed to head off to the Black Order HQ and become an official exorcist or something about now?"

"Oh, that? I changed my mind." Casually.

Feeling a migraine coming on, Tyki reached up to pinch the ridge of his nose. "You changed your mind, huh? What happened to trying not to wreck the timeline ahead of time?" he asked, mentally reminding himself to stay calm, stay calm. "Besides, isn't the Order already aware of your existence? That letter of recommendation you mentioned−"

There was actually a mildly hysterical giggle at that. "You mean that thing that got lost in Komui's sea of paperwork that was only found because I turned up at HQ in person? That thing that saved me from being skewered just in the nick of time? But only just barely?"

On one hand, Tyki did not want to pry. On the other however, he had a sneaking suspicion about the identity of the one responsible for the almost skewing. "Was it Long-Haired Pretty Boy?"

Going by the grin, it most likely was. The grin proved decidedly short-lived however, quickly replaced by a sober, even sombre expression. "To be completely honest," Allen began, looking back up into the ceiling. "I don't know how to face most people from my past, Kanda being one of them. It's weird, I mean, because I know them but they don't know me, and even if I tried to stay true to the original version of events, it really wouldn't be the same. It would be scripted, faked, forced. As if there wasn't enough that was fake about me already…"

 _Wow_. Tyki did not want to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. Or a twenty-foot pole. Or a hundred-foot pole. Or at all. Still− "Nobody said you had to force it. I mean, you could've just showed up at the Order and just upped the ante big time. Like… _Yo, I'm Cross Marian 2.0, a foul-mouthed, authority-disrespecting, debt-incurring menace who knows things I shouldn't. Here's a souvenir. Bye. I'm off to kick arse and play cards, in no particular order._ "

There was a definite snort at that, and when Tyki looked back, the boy had the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes, muttering "Fuuuuuck, I could've totally done that…" under his breath.

Well− "You might still make that route if you hurry. I mean, would that master of yours ever show up on time?"

This elicited another grin, but as with the first, it soon gave way for sobriety. "The idea holds merit," the boy said at last, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Still, it's better for me to keep my distance, at least for now."

Tyki sighed inwardly, realising that his not-so-spontaneous not-vacation had devolved into some kind of counselling session. "Okay, cool." Not cool. "But why?"

The staring contest with the ceiling intensified. "Your side could have decimated the Order years ago. Heck, I'm sure even you could have managed it, given a few higher-level akuma and a decent incentive."

" _Even you_ , huh?"

Allen sat up at last, cradling his head. "Look," he said, tone surprisingly frank. "I'm not questioning your ability here, because honestly, I believe even a single member of the Noah family could have gotten the job done. That said, you would no doubt have had an easier time getting in, considering your ability to walk through walls. Besides, when it comes to HQ, it's occupied primarily by scientists, not fighters. Typically, there'd be only a handful of exorcists there, if even that. I mean, I'm sure you could hold your ground against an exorcist general. In fact, I'm pretty sure you could even kill one, provided you could retain some sanity whilst running on full power, but…"

"But…?"

The boy went from cradling his head to running a hand through his hair. "I honestly wouldn't recommend going up against more than one, and especially not against Cross."

That was a fair point. Still− "I rather doubt laziness is the only reason."

That got him a mildly surprised blink. "It's not," the boy responded, offering up a mild shrug. "Besides, it's not laziness per se."

Tyki dedicated a brief thought to something about weeding out the Heart but opted to leave it at that, for now. "So? Why hasn't−" Tyki hesitated on calling the Duke by his title, because speak of the Devil and he shall appear and whatnot. "−You-Know-Who destroyed the Order then?"

The boy offered up another shrug at that. "He's distracted."

"Distracted?" Well…

"By the Fourteenth."

Yeah, and− "Also by you, by default."

Allen snorted openly at that. "Yeah, as if. _I_ was an annoyance, plain and simple. I'm still not sure why he didn't seriously attempt to end me before learning about this whole affair with the Fourteenth and all but−"

Sick of standing around, Tyki pulled up a chair and sat down. "That guy might not seem like it, but he's got a soft spot for children," he said, and at the disbelieving snort, he continued. "You don't believe me?"

The boy averted his eyes at that, wearing a decidedly bitter smile. "It's a complicated matter, really," he then deadpanned, signalling that this was about as much as he intended to say about the subject.

In any case− "I can't honestly say that I know shit about all that, save for the fact that you're the host of the Fourteenth and that the Fourteenth went on a fairly successful killing spree some thirty-odd years ago. I mean, the other guy was obviously there, but I can't really say anyone has ever filled me in on what that was really all about. I mean, Road obviously knew and that Wisely did too, but the rest of us were just kind of… you know?"

"Memory damage," Allen commented, giving Tyki a look that seemed almost curious. "The Noah are born to protect the Ea−their _lord_ , but the battle with the Fourteenth fucked up the reincarnation cycles."

Yeah, but− "But I meant why the Fourteenth just up and decided to launch a bloody coup d'état in the first place. I mean, there's that, obviously, and also, when I first talked to him, he was pissed about his old nickname and told me that the thought of sharing a meal with me would make him sick. Why?"

This earned him another look. "How should I know?"

Tyki felt his fingers give an involuntary twitch. "You don't typically share a headspace with someone over the course of months without learning a thing or two about their motivations."

The look sharpened into a glare, but Tyki did not back down, even if the golem bared its teeth at him. After all, in order for this to work, in order for them to work as a _team_ , however alien that sounded, information had to be shared and Allen keeping all cards close to his chest would more likely than not hurt their cause rather than the opposite.

"Fine," the boy relented at last, averting his gaze while reaching up to cover his left eye. "The Fourteenth's motivation is to take over. I can't say we ever discussed what came after that."

Yeah, go figure. "So almost wiping out the fam some thirty-odd years ago wasn't his ultimate goal but rather a case of whoops, they got in the way?"

"The Noah family exist to protect their lord," Allen responded, keeping his gaze averted.

"Is that a yes?" Tyki asked.

That got him a definite look, but Tyki understood where it was coming from; if the Fourteenth's goal was really to kill the Duke, then it was hardly like the rest of the family would just take that sitting down. That said− "Irregularity or not, that guy's still part of the family. Is he defective or something?"

There was a slight snort at that. "They're both defective. And incomplete."

"Incomplete?"

Allen shot Tyki a long evaluating look. Then slowly, a smile spread across his features. "What do you think, Tim?" he asked, petting the golem now seated upon his head. "Should we tell him?"

 **-o0oOo0o-**

By the end of the boy's somewhat long-winded and increasingly perplexing account, Tyki was about halfway through his most recent packet of cigarettes and felt just about ready to drink himself into oblivion. After showering, of course. "Okay," he said, rising from his seat. "One more thing: You never did tell me what that guy has against my face. I'll have you know that I'm typically regarded as handsome, not vomit-inducing."

This time around, the response was quick and to the point, and Allen positively beamed. "You're practically his mirror image," he said, clearly enjoying Tyki's expression. "Of course, that'd piss him off; I initially mistook him for you."

Tyki briefly considered foregoing the shower in favour of downing an entire bottle of vodka. He ultimately opted against it though. "I could have lived not knowing that."

"You asked for it!" Allen called after him as he retreated into the bathroom.

 **-o0oOo0o-**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Where is this going?**_ **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0oOo0o-**

Tyki Mikk had seen better days. Really.

Stepping out of the shower, he found himself feeling nowhere near as refreshed as he would have hoped, and the sight of the intruder snoozing on his bed did little to alleviate his stress. It made for a peaceful picture though, if one disregarded the context and the uncanny guard dog.

It had doubled, possibly even tripled, in size while he had been gone, in order to look more imposing. Probably. In any case− "That's still my bed, you know," Tyki muttered, in the process of drying his hair.

The golem snapped its jaws shut and then opened its mouth back up, as if to demonstrate just how easily it could take off a finger or just about any limb that got within striking distance.

Tyki briefly considered trying out just how indestructible the thing was. Simply because. Still− "I get it, all right? You don't like me and I don't like you, that's all fine and good. Seeing me, you must've been confused. Me, I'm honestly a bit nauseated, knowing I'm the dead ringer of that guy. I mean, in hindsight, things make a tiny bit more sense now, but in general, it feels like some higher power is fucking with us. No, I _know_ that some higher power is fucking with us; it's fact, not speculation."

Predictably, the golem said nothing. Not that Tyki cared or anything; he was just venting. Rather, receiving any sort of vocal response would have been creepy. That said− "You're a pretty strange one yourself though, aren't you? Far more independent and sturdy, not to mention stubborn, than any other golem I've ever seen. That guy certainly did a good job on you, even if he fucked up on so many other things…"

The golem regarded him warily; how he could tell this was anyone's guess, because there were no eyes to be seen yet he could still feel its gaze resting upon him. A gaze, a presence, a consciousness of sorts. Looking at the thing, Tyki could not help but wonder if that consciousness was a result of magic coupled with mechanics or if there was actually something like a proper soul in there, because if so, then whose was it? It could hardly be the Fourteenth's after all. Or could it? Tyki found that he would rather not think about it. Still− "It could be a programme," he mused, rubbing his chin, because that was certainly an idea. "Like with the akuma…"

Going by the sharp wing beat and the bared teeth, the golem did not appreciate the comparison.

That said, even though they ran on a sort of programming, akuma still required souls to function, did they not? As fuel.

Tyki spared a glance in the golem's general direction and then stepped up to the window, putting more effort into drying his hair, quietly contemplating just what that golem could possibly be running on. Tyki might not be an expert on magic, but as with everything, it had to have a limit. Granted, that Cross Marian could certainly have been reinforcing whatever the Fourteenth might have originally put in place, but still, in terms of behaviour, that thing seemed to be a whole lot more alive than it should have been. Alive and effectively immortal. Well, more or less. It could be destroyed but it reformed quickly, meaning that the magic that had gone into making had to have been strong, and that the energy it was feeding on had yet to run dry. Tyki could tell that much without being an expert; a fire required fuel to burn.

He lit a cigarette, positioning himself over by the window. "This is such a pain in the ass."

 **-o0oOo0o-**

This was such a pain in the ass. Enduring, and bordering on the edge of what could be considered chronic.

That said, maybe Tyki should be glad, seeing that the boy seemed to have taken those words about sharing information with his allies to heart, because he was talking now, words spilling rapidly over his lips, enunciated and occasionally accompanied by dramatic gestures. Tyki might or might not have asked a question about the boy's refusal to join the Order. Tyki might or might not be regretting this decision.

"Getting me into the Order was Master's idea. Not following through with it was mine, as was tagging along with you. And if that guy's got a problem with it, then he can bloody damned well show up in person and explain to me why he deemed it necessary to send me into all this fucking blind. I mean _really_ , send the host of a dormant Noah into the Order? Also, _I_ sure as heck haven't forgotten what happened back when the higherups got a wee bit suspicious about my ability to control the Noah's Ark."

Yeah, Tyki would rather not be discussing this, not even in a private train compartment. Because the walls were thin and even if they did not have eyes and ears, there were plenty of those beyond it that did. Still− "What happened?"

Allen Walker's up until then mildly exasperated expression darkened considerably. "He basically gave them the go ahead!" the boy exclaimed, throwing his hands out slightly to accentuate his words. "Like sure, why not? It'll be _fun_. Bring on the Inquisition!"

Exasperation _and_ bitterness. Quite a bit of it too, if Tyki's ears were not mistaken. "Really?" he offered up, because potentially hazardous topic or not, it was still a chance to glean some information from his recent ally.

"Really! If it hadn't been for Komui and Bak, then I would've−" Allen trailed off at that, then waved his hand as if to dispel the thought and pulled one of his knees close to his chest. "Well, in any case: He's the one who told me that a path isn't just something that you follow but also something that you leave behind as you make your way forward. And as you and I both know, that last path was a dead end, and so, we have to find a way to work around it."

Coming to think of it, Tyki had to have skimmed through the exorcist's file at some point, because something about all of this definitely rang a bell. However− "How exactly does this translate into abandoning the official exorcist route? I don't get it. That matter with the higherups aside, I always had the impression that you were awfully attached to the rest of the Order, those exorcist friends of yours in particular. They might be useful to our cause, and besides, if you stick with me, how will you be able to protect them?"

Hand cushioning his chin, Allen levelled his gaze upon Tyki. His expression was fairly neutral at first, open, but was all too soon split by a dark leer. "You don't get it, do you, Tyki?" he said, unwittingly reminding Tyki of Wisely. " _He_ is indifferent to the Order. At worst, the Order is a mild nuisance, powerful enough to slow him down occasionally, but seldom capable of posing any real threat to his ambitions. At best, they are useful to him in finding the Heart."

In weeding out the Heart to be exact, but in any case− "Just because they are a tiny bit useful to _His_ cause doesn't mean they'll be spared."

The smile melted away, but the gaze remained intent. "He won't attack them either, not like last time."

"How so?" Tyki asked, because that kind of confidence had to come from somewhere.

The boy finally averted his gaze, shifting his posture and attention towards the window. The golem perched on top of his head shifted slightly, and Tyki felt as though unseen eyes were staring him down.

"He is obsessed with the Fourteenth," the boy said at last, still looking out the window. "The only times he really launched any large-scale operations, it was directly related to the Fourteenth and to the Fourteenth's legacy."

The List. "In other words, he started out targeting people who'd been involved with the Fourteenth… before zeroing in on you, for obvious reasons."

A slight smile split the boy's face. "Well duh. I hijacked the Ark and stole away the Akuma Plant. I wasn't exactly subtle."

No, but− "How does this translate to Him not attacking the Order?"

"The strike on the Order was launched because of the Akuma Plant, the Egg. If the Egg never gets to HQ to begin with, then there'll be no good reason to launch the strike in the first place."

Fair enough. Still− "You sound awfully sure of that."

The boy's eyes flickered briefly towards Tyki before turning back towards the landscapes passing by. "I obviously can't account for the actions of the rest of the Noah, but _He_ won't strike."

"How can you be so sure?" Tyki persisted, because even if the argument was sound enough, there were no actual guarantees.

"Because he'll be busy−" the boy started, positively leering now. "−chasing the shadow of the Fourteenth."

Tyki did not like the sound of that and made no secret of it. Because really, no.

"It doesn't have to be anything big," the boy insisted. "Just a few sightings of a cloaked figure wielding the Sword of Exorcism."

"Yeah…" Tyki's attention naturally drifted to the other's limb. "Why do you have that?"

The boy shifted again in his seat, pulling off the glove to reveal the hand Tyki had already glimpsed. The cross in the middle of his palm was glowing faintly. "Innocence responds to the strength of your emotions," Allen explained, displaying it proudly. "I am very determined. And loved. That too."

Well, determined was just another word for stubborn though, wasn't it? "Loved?"

"It wants to protect me," Allen elaborated, flexing his fingers.

Yeah… "So long as Apocryphos isn't in range."

There was a visible cringe at that. Tyki felt a bit bad about it. A _tiny_ bit, granted, but still. "Well, I'm perfectly willing to rescue you from his clutches. Again. I still think tearing that arm off would be easier though."

"Except we'll bloody need it by the end of it all," Allen snapped.

Tyki shrugged. "It could be reattached. It's been done before."

"It could also be used to slash you," Allen countered. "Awaken your latent Noah potential and whatnot."

Yeah, no. "Like you could handle me then. Also, _bad_ idea if you're going for subtlety."

"But an excellent idea if I want to draw His attention away from the Order, no?" the former exorcist readily countered, looking entirely too comfortable with the idea.

"Yeah, yeah, except it could backfire bigtime, driving Him to have the Order infiltrated in order to gain info on a general-class renegade exorcist," Tyki countered in turn. "Besides, non-aggression pact, remember?"

"Non-stabbing pact," the boy corrected. "Slashing not included."

Ugh. "Slashing included save for during extreme circumstances."

"So, I'm allowed to slash you if the situation grows dire enough?"

Tyki let out an exasperated sigh. "I wouldn't encourage it, but yeah, sure. I won't be held responsible for what comes after it though."

For a brief while, the boy was silent, staring thoughtfully out the window. "Potential hazardous effects aside, it'd have quite an impact though, don't you think?" he said at last, eyes flickering back towards Tyki. "I mean, an unknown general-class exorcist attacking you, the Noah who is the spitting image of the Fourteenth?"

Spitting image. Knowing what he did now, Tyki felt forced to re-evaluate or at the very least consider re-evaluating past experiences. Before, in the back of his mind, he had always thought that the Duke had given him the List as a way to prove himself and his loyalty to the clan, thereby forcing him to put more distance between himself and his human companions, and with humanity himself. Now, Tyki had inevitably come to question whether or not his looks had played any significant part in the Duke giving him the mission to hunt down the Fourteenth's associates.

On one hand, Tyki kind of wanted to ask. On the other, he found that he would rather not know. Besides, even if Tyki's looks had originally played some part in it, the mission had since been postponed, with that thing about the Ark, with the Akuma Plant and with the nuisance that was Allen Walker, and then, inevitably, with the Fourteenth.

"−ey, Tyki."

He looked up. The boy was standing now, hands inside his coat pockets and the golem still riding on top of his head; it must have shrunk down again, because Tyki thought it was decidedly smaller now than just a minute ago.

"I know it must really suck to wear his face, but imagine having him inside of you."

Whoa. Unintentional innuendo. In any case− "Kudos to you for not throwing up all the time."

There was a mild shrug at that. "I'm not into the habit of wasting food."

Food. "Coming to think of it, I blew the last of my allowance on these train tickets." Because first-class tickets were _expensive_. "How about you?"

"I'm pretty much broke," Allen announced, visibly unbothered by the fact. "But I've got an idea."

"An idea?" Tyki echoed, bracing himself.

"We're on a train, Tyki, and there are still many hours left to kill," the boy stated, holding out his hand, palm facing upwards. "We're both bored and broke, but we don't have to be."

Train. Time. Money. Entertainment. Tyki reached into his pocket, pulling out his deck. "This?"

"That," Allen affirmed.

It was still a pain in the longer term. For now though, there was poker to be played, people to be conned and money to be gained.

 **-o0oOo0o-**


	4. Chapter 4

_**What is Allen thinking?**_ _ **What am I thinking?**_ **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0oOo0o-**

A lot can happen within the span of a few minutes.

As such, Tyki was not entirely unsurprised to re-enter the train carriage where he had left his travelling companion to find the aforementioned engaging with a bunch of people Tyki would rather not have on his tail right now. "Boy," he sighed, torn in-between exasperation and resignation, because− "When I said, stay put and don't cause trouble for the other passengers, I−"

The little hellion turned his hooded head around, grinning. "Uncle!"

Tyki had to employ a whole lot of self-control not to cringe. Because honestly, whose idea was this whole ploy? Not Tyki's, that's for sure.

"Ooh, croissants. Thanks, uncle!"

Uncle. Cringe. Double cringe. Triple cringe.

"That twitchy dude's your uncle? Really? You two look almost nothing alike!"

And for that, Tyki was thankful, because the Fourteenth was more than enough. "Small mercies."

The pair seated on the floor both laughed at that. Despite having no greater appetite, Tyki took a bite out of his croissant, averting his eyes from the spectacle that was a hooded Allen Walker seated across from one of the exorcists that had met their unfortunate end by Tyki's hand. The name escaped him though, at least for now.

"Daisya, you want one? I feel kind of bad about taking all of your pocket money."

Tyki closed his eyes and prayed for deliverance, because that thing over there was definitely that annoying little exorcist Tyki had put an end to fairly early on in the game. In Barcelona, probably. Strung upside down from a lamppost, if Tyki was not completely mistaken.

On one hand, Tyki definitely contemplated killing the exorcist again, if in a somewhat less creative manner. On the other, he definitely felt the surfacing urge to enforce some discipline upon his fake nephew.

"It's cool man, you're really good at this. I'm better at ballgames myself. You play?"

The boy gave a somewhat dismissive wave at that. "Nah, I'm more into acrobatics myself. And juggling. And knife throwing."

Tyki snorted softly, because it was more like sword throwing and juggling various fake personalities. "You know, it's not too late to run off and join a circus," he said, because that much was true. "I'm sure you'd make an excellent clown." That much was also true.

There was a brief smile and a display of teeth. "And I'm sure you'd make excellent target practice, uncle of mine."

Really. "I didn't agree to bring you along just so that you could use me as target practice."

The boy actually pouted at that. "I wouldn't hit you. Grandfather would kill me."

Grandfather. Tyki took another bite out of his croissant and quietly prayed for deliverance.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

It might sound a bit anticlimactic, but nothing really came of that. Nothing major at any rate. Daisya Barry was out on some mundane mission with some mundane Finder, and there was no aggressive sword-wielding Second-Generation exorcist menace in the vicinity, so Tyki should feel glad as opposed to… well, bored and disappointed.

After all, he should hardly be disappointed with such an outcome; he should be thrilled, because the risk that it would all have gone off the rails again had been overhanging, but still.

"Stop looking so damned disappointed," drawled his companion, who was sorting through the remaining fruits of today's hard work. "Did you honestly think I started that game without something up my sleeve?"

Tyki knew for a fact that the boy had several somethings up his sleeve at most times, but− "You risked exposure."

That earned him a definite look. "Did not."

"Are you positive about that? Because I'm pretty damned sure that your face will be remembered not just by that exorcist brat and his Finder but also by that golem of his."

"And who would remember me for what, exactly?" Allen drawled right back. "I'm just some card-playing brat tagging along with my _uncle_ ; I'm either a stranger or a potential friend."

Or an enemy pretending to be the former, technically, but neither of them made mention of that. According to Black Order official policy, he was most definitely the latter after all.

For a while, they just sat there, Allen counting the money with immense concentration. Tyki had a distinct feeling that the boy might have actually finished several minutes ago, but was only keeping up the charade as a means not to talk to him. "Say…"

The boy didn't look up, but simply scowled down at the money. "What?"

On one hand, Tyki felt tempted to leave it at that. Heck, he felt sorely tempted to head out and smoke some of the cigarettes now at his disposal, because having such a travelling companion was anything but easy on his nerves. Still− "Just so that we're both on the same page: The plan is to stop _Him_ from bringing about the apocalypse, right?"

The scowl turned to him now. "Yes."

Tyki averted his eyes; the view outside the window was unremarkable, but currently preferable. "I don't think we ever defined what 'stop' meant…"

The boy's eyes narrowed at that; even without looking, Tyki could tell. "We meant stop as in stop by any means necessary, which by the way isn't necessarily the same as that guy's _kill and replace_ strategy."

Yeah, except− "It might be?"

The boy let out a sigh and finally bundled the money together. "I honestly don't think that I'd make many new friends with it, but if I'm left with no other option, then sure, it would be the same," he said, putting one bundle inside of his coat pocket.

Tyki was unable to help a sardonic smile at that. "It's awfully optimistic of you to believe you'll make friends with any of us, considering who you're hosting. Even if you somehow manage to wrap Him around your finger, the others will do anything in their power to put an end to your ambitions."

There was a slight noise at that, reminiscent of an amused snort. Tyki looked back to see the boy looking up at him with a smile on his face. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I can be very charming when I want to be," Allen said.

On one hand, some part of Tyki believes him. On the other however− "I believe that when I see it."

The smile widened into something decidedly sharper. "Then watch carefully," he said, getting up and motioning for Tyki to follow.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

And Tyki watched, fascinated at first and then gradually more and more horrified as boy moved from carriage to carriage, from compartment to compartment, bumping into people, openly stealing from people and yet each time people noticed or got upset, they all stopped in their tracks, and by the end of it all, even the gruffest of men took turns to ruffle the boy's hair and to put a hand upon his shoulders, making offers of this and that. The women were even worse; one somewhat older and busty woman in particular had practically decided to adopt the boy right then and there. Even so, the boy had still managed to weasel himself out of it all, and by the time he and Tyki were both back inside their compartment, the boy dropped all earlier pretence and grinned widely.

"I stand corrected," Tyki admitted, checking to make sure the coast was clear before pulling the door shut and locking it. "Still, I seriously doubt you'd manage to pull that trick on Sheril."

"You'd be surprised by just how good I am at getting people to like me," Allen answered simply, emptying his most recent spoils down onto the nearest seat.

Of that, Tyki was no longer surprised. Still− "How _did_ you get Road to like you anyway? She was smitten by the time she returned from that first mission. The Rewinding Town, was it?"

She had been smitten _and_ nigh unbearable, but that was beside the point.

Allen meanwhile pinched his nasal bridge; he looked like the mere thought of the event was giving him a headache. "She gouged my eye out," he began at last, moving the hand from his nose to cover his eye as he spoke. "She also nailed my arm to a wall…" Whoa. "And then I threatened to blow her head off."

"Ah." Tyki had to take a moment to process this new piece of information, because really. Still− "It still wouldn't work on Sheril. I'll have you know that the Sheril of our time thirsts for your blood almost as much as he does for Fourteenth's."

Allen shrugged mildly at that, taking a seat next to his spoils. "Well, that guy's inside my body, so it's my blood in any case."

That much was true, still− "Sheril might be sadistic in his own right, but I honestly don't think he'd find a murder attempt seductive."

Few people would; Road was an outlier.

Allen hummed slightly at that. "I once seduced a robot into sacrificing itself for me," he finally said, sorting through the spoils.

Tyki blinked. "A robot?"

The boy gave another shrug at that. "Komui's masterpiece. Version 3.0, I think. The previous models all got wrecked because of reasons."

Tyki had never heard of this. "What happened?"

Allen tilted his head back to stare up into the ceiling. "A zombified Krory was at the door to our hiding place. We needed someone to act as a distraction," he said, as if that explained everything; it really didn't.

"Zombified?" Tyki repeated, because he had to start from somewhere and that's seemed like a decent place to start.

"The Black Order Zombie Apocalypse," Allen readily supplied. "Not fun," he added, as if his tone had left any doubts.

"Hoh?" Tyki took a seat across from him, leaning forward in interest.

"Someone fed Krory Komui's special vitamins, Komu-Vitamin or something," Allen eventually supplied, looking out the window now. "And then the infection started getting transmitted orally."

Just then, the train entered a tunnel, which left them in pitch darkness for a bit. Then, just as suddenly as they had entered, they exited back out into the light.

"I got bitten in the arm, but since it was Innocence, I didn't become a zombie until the very end of it," Allen added somewhat dismissively. "Still, it wasn't very fun."

Tyki took a moment, trying to imagine it. It made a fairly strange image. "Going by your descriptions, I'm starting to doubt there's even a need to destroy the Order," he decided at last. After all− "It seems to be doing a pretty decent job on its own."

"Komui's smart but destructive," Allen commented.

"That's only marginally better than being dumb and destructive," Tyki countered.

Allen shrugged mildly at that, coaxing Timcanpy out of his pocket and putting him on top of his head. "Fair enough."

For a while, neither of them said anything. Timcanpy seemed a bit snappish and annoyed at having been left inside a pocket for so long, but seemed willing to forego biting at fingers to glare with its non-existent eyes in Tyki's general direction. Tyki felt mildly tempted to do something in return, but was suddenly distracted by how Allen picked up a piece of sausage the busty lady had given him and held it up. The golem bared its teeth at first, as if somewhat displeased by such meagre peace offering, but then it flicked its tongue out – Why the ever-loving fuck did it have a tongue? – and in no time, it had savagely consumed the thing, teeth snapping wildly as pieces of sausage were banished into the void that apparently also functioned as the thing's stomach.

Allen must have noticed Tyki staring, because he simply said "Tim's got itchy teeth" and left it at that, as if it somehow made sense then. Then again, as Tyki had already established, there was absolutely nothing that really made sense about the thing, save for its protectiveness of Allen and its intense animosity towards Tyki, because Tyki could understand both of them, at least to some degree.

In any case, wasn't Tyki forgetting something right now? That thing before, about whether one was smart but destructive or dumb and destructive and…

"Wait… Smart but destructive or dumb and destructive − Which one are you?"

The smile directed his way was bright and anything but comforting.

 **-o0oOo0o-**


	5. Chapter 5

**¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0oOo0o-**

Smart but destructive or dumb and destructive; that was the question.

On one hand, Tyki was leaning towards the former, but at times, he was definitely leaning towards the latter – in regards to Allen, that is, not in regards to Tyki himself.

For now though, the boy was just… idle. This should have been a good thing, and yet, Tyki found it immensely unnerving. Because an idle mind was the Devil's playground and all that shit.

Earlier, Tyki had been treated to the spectacle of the golem getting polished and meticulously at that. Several comments had been on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he had just sat there in silence and watched the spectacle.

Now though, the golem was perhaps shinier than ever, and the boy had instead taken to looking out the train window.

Now, there was nothing wrong with looking at the landscapes passing by, but when someone had been doing that wordlessly for at least an hour and a half and had barely blinked more than a couple of times per minute, that was a definite cause for concern.

"So…" Tyki said at last. "What's up?"

At first, Tyki thought that he was being deliberately ignored, but then he noticed the golem tapping Allen's thigh and the boy startling, first at the sudden tap and then at the sight of Tyki, surprise and something reminiscent of fear in his eyes.

"I'm not him," Tyki said, and just in case, he also clarified: "I'm not the Fourteenth; I'm Tyki Mikk, the Pleasure of Noah, your reluctant ally, in spite of past confrontations and past and present differences in opinion. We're on a train, headed for the Balkans, because you decided that joining the Black Order simply wasn't for you. Our non-aggression agreement is still valid by the way."

There was a brief pause at that and a few rapid blinks. "Non-stabbing agreement," the boy said at last. "Slashing included save for special occasions."

Special occasions? "Putting it like that, it kind of sounds like you actually enjoy slashing people," Tyki commented, putting out his cigarette before pulling out another one and lighting it. "It's not too late to turn up at the Order; you should at least consider it."

"I did," Allen said, folding his arms across his chest. "My decision hasn't changed."

Yeah, Tyki had kind of figured. Still− "You do realise that you're making my life kind of difficult, right? Not that I don't appreciate the company, and not that I don't get why you want to keep your distance, but… you can't protect them if you're not around. I mean sure, without you in the Order, the likelihood of an attack on the Order itself will be decidedly low. But you know, exorcists have been attacked and killed way before I started hunting them – by akuma, for the most part, and while we're mostly dealing with Level-Ones and Level-Twos at this point in time, not everyone is as skilled as you when it comes to picking them out, so…"

So… why was Tyki giving this guy pointers on how to live his life again? Oh right, _that_.

"It's okay to fake it, you know?" Tyki said, and looking back, he could probably have saved himself a lot of trouble if he had just said this back when they had first discussed the topic in question. "You don't have to be the person you were at the age of fifteen and you don't have to be like Cross. You could just be yourself, and that's perfectly fine. So fucking what if you have a lot of knowledge that you shouldn't have? You could just blame it on Cross or whatever."

The boy said nothing to that, but it didn't really matter because Tyki wasn't really done talking.

"You talked about distracting Him before," he said. "But why? Odds are that I'll still get the hitlist and that He'll still order us to target the exorcist generals, and odds are that the Order will do the same thing as last time and send out teams of exorcists to retrieve them. I mean sure, it won't be like last time, since I was responsible for most killings back then, but… as you know, fate's a bitch, so…"

"What should I do then?" Allen asked. "Should I say 'Screw it", infiltrate the Ark, take control of it and then−"

"Hijacking the Ark isn't such a bad idea," Tyki commented. "I mean, if you're gonna do it, then you should probably do it pretty soon; before Edo. Unless you want the other side to have an ark of their own, that is."

Tyki was back to giving pointers again. Sanity? What was that again?

He sighed. "In any case, you're not the type that can manage to stay uninvolved for long. If you're not actively looking for trouble, that means that trouble has to come and find you, and by default also me. I mean sure, if it'd be just Apocryphos, that'd be one thing, but−"

Ugh. Why? Just why?

"−But in any case, just think about it. Where do you want to start?"

 **-o0oOo0o-**

Tyki had expected a lot of things. This on the other hand was not on the list. "Gang, this is Nuisance. Nuisance, my gang: Eeez, Momo, and Crack."

This was such a bad idea. Tyki had known that beforehand. But−

"Nuisance?" Crack chuckled. "What kind of name is that?"

The nuisance in question smiled. "I could ask you the same, _Crack_."

Yeah, and this was a situation that Tyki would have liked to avoid. But beggars couldn't be choosers and all that. "Yeah, whatever. Nuisance is, as you might figure, a great _nuisance_. But certain people would be very troubled if he managed to get himself killed, so…"

The smile was directed at Tyki next, gaining a sharper edge. "Hoh? So, you fancy yourself my guard dog then, Tyki- _pet_?"

His pet? No, but his minder, certainly. Besides− "You already have a guard dog, and I'm not vying for that position," Tyki said, determined to ignore the sniggers. Because Tyki already felt like the butt of the joke of the entire universe.

And really, Tyki could have avoided all this. So, why in the ever-loving Hell had he failed to do so?

Right. Because he had basically asked for it. Really, he should have known better.

On the other hand, there was literally no telling as to what kind of trouble that little hellion might get up to if left to his own devices for long enough, so…

Well, in any case, due to a sudden summons for a family meeting, Tyki was about to do just that. Hence the somewhat hurried introductions, because Tyki really had to get going.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

Leaving the situation behind didn't exactly stop him from thinking about it though. Because Tyki was playing a dangerous game, and he knew that much for himself, thank you very much.

"Tyki," Road said, snatching the paper and holding it up for critical inspection. "These are all wrong."

Well, that was her own damned fault, because− "I suck at math. You do know that, right?"

"I know," Road said, frowning openly now. "But you even got 2 + 2 wrong."

"Hoh?" Tyki snatched the paper back to see for himself. "Well, I'll be damned."

Guess that served as proof as to just how much of a toll this whole situation was taking on him; he couldn't even do basic addition anymore.

"Tyki… You've been acting pretty weird as of late."

He frowned at her. "…I don't think I've been acting any weirder than usual, but okay."

" _Distracted."_

And this was one of the reasons as to why Tyki greatly favoured hanging out with humans; there was no risk of them poking around inside his head, intentionally or otherwise; the only silver lining was that Wisely wasn't around yet. "Nope, just bored out of my mind. Seriously though, if I'd known this was about doing your homework, I would have skipped this one."

Except he wouldn't have, because that would have given certain people semi-valid excuses to check up on him.

And whereas Tyki might have previously been concerned about Sheril learning about Tyki's human companions, his main priority had shifted towards ensuring that none of them learned about Allen. Or Allen's identity at any rate.

Tyki had a nasty feeling that it might just be a question of time though.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

So.

Tyki returned.

And then−

"We – me and Tim, that is – are going to swing by Italy for a bit. You're not exactly invited, but I thought you should know."

Italy. The Vatican was in Italy, and with all due likelihood, so was− "You better not be planning on swinging by the Vatican."

Because Tyki would rather not end up in a situation where he might be forced to explain to his family just how this had all come about. Really.

"Not the Vatican," the boy affirmed with a dismissive wave. "I've thought a lot about what you said, and I think that you might've actually had a point."

Oh boy.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

In the end, Tyki remained blissfully unaware of just what the boy had been up to in Italy for a long time. He had opted not to ask about it, seeing that Allen was back in less than a week and in a far better mood than previously.

"We're thinking about swinging by Romania next. Wanna come?"

Yeah… No. "Pass."

"Are you sure? There's a castle."

A castle? Well, wasn't that just a big freaking clue as to which future exorcist the boy was planning on visiting next? "Definite pass. You were planning on seeing what happened if I got bitten, weren't you?"

The boy didn't even bother denying it. "Come on, it'll be fun. Besides, there's quite a fair bit of stuff in that castle, and if we can convince him not to torch the place like last time, then there'd be at least a few things we could sell to boost our funds."

Funds. "What are you planning on doing with even more money? We can easily get what we need while we're on the ro−"

"More money can set your companions up with something better," Allen interrupted. "You've got a nomadic lifestyle, and I can understand that, but really, it probably wouldn't kill them to have an easier life, at least for a couple of months. And take Eeez to a doctor. I mean it."

Tyki honestly didn't know what to say to that.

 **-o0oOo0o-**


	6. Chapter 6

**¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

 **-o0oOo0o-**

This was going to end badly. Tyki was fairly sure of this, and yet, he felt as though it was already too late, because there was no stopping this train wreck.

"Oh, well if it isn't Nuisance! What've you been up to lately?"

Also, how did the brat keep finding him? Was Tyki's travelling patterns really that damned predictable? Also, wasn't the boy supposed to have a virtually nonexistent sense of direction?

"Ah, nothing much," the boy offered, knocking back his hood. "Did some vampire hunting."

Tyki did not need to ask whether the boy was successful or not; the proof was standing right behind him after all. That said however− "You shouldn't go around picking up strays."

Especially not fledgling exorcists.

"I learned from the very best," Allen Walker said, and Tyki felt his mouth twitch. Because it wasn't as though Tyki wasn't smart enough to take a hint. "Anyways, guys, this is Krory. Krory's had a bit of a rough time lately, so don't be mean to him, especially you, Tyki-pet. You know what'll happen if you do…"

Oh, for fuck's sake.

 **-o0oOo0o-**

In any case, the fledgling exorcist had money. Perhaps not astronomical sums, but enough to put up Tyki's party for not just the rest of the year and maybe even a couple of months beyond that. Which was nice, let's be honest. It was a shame however that Tyki himself was unlikely to be able to enjoy such luxury, at least not for long. And by luxury, he meant the luxury of staying well out of the way of… well… Allen Walker, for a start.

 _What are you doing, you dumbass?_ Tyki mentally berated himself, because why had he tagged along with fledgling Nosferatu and the host of the family traitor? Whether the original timeline had been derailed or not, Tyki should be staying the heck away from it, not leisurely tagging along with it. He should also not be teaching the fledgling exorcist how to play poker either, because that was a lost cause if he ever saw one; the guy's face was like an open book to anyone with eyes. Also, there was _that_ −

"Mr. Mikk," the man said, bowing his head in shame after Tyki had hauled him away from yet another group of swindlers. "I fear that I might have troubled you greatly."

Well, no fucking shit. _'You're too damned gullible, you damned idiot!_ ' Tyki screamed in his heart while his lips twitched.

"Don't mention it," he said, and immediately reached for another cigarette; if he'd had a bottle of vodka at hand, then he would have downed it in one swing; he was well beyond wine at this point, preferring stuff that would get him smashed even faster – which was a challenge, let's be honest, because stimulants like that had fairly limited effect on people like him. That didn't stop him from trying however, even if the looks occasionally sent his way indicated that the boy disapproved. Not that the boy had any right to judge or anything, seeing as to how he was more or less the main reason as to why Tyki wanted to get wasted.

And that damned nuisance was nowhere to be seen. Typical.

However, Tyki had scarcely even finished with the thought before the boy appeared, because speak of the Devil and whatnot. Also, the boy did not appear alone either; there was someone clinging to his arm and a horrifyingly familiar someone at that.

" _Tyki?"_

Oh snap.

 **-o0oOo0o-**


	7. Chapter 7

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **-o0oOo0o-**

 _"Tyki?!"_

Oh boy. Oh damn. Oh shit.

"What are you doing here?"

Really. "I could ask you the same. Shouldn't you be in school right about now?"

Road just stared at him, still attached to the boy's arm like a limpet. Coming to think of it- "And what would your parents say if they saw you acting like that? They'd throw a fit."

And so would the Duke, should he ever catch wind of what Tyki was currently up to. Fuck.

So, this whole situation was bound to end very, very badly. Tyki was fairly certain of this.

Road simply narrowed her eyes at him and then turned her face back to Allen wearing a far more innocent look. "Allen," she whined. "Do you think I'm shameful?"

"I don't think anyone here's even remotely shameful," Allen said, keeping his face perfectly straight. "Now shameless on the other hand…"

There was a pointed look sent Tyki's way, and the man in question immediately felt his fingers twitch. The urge to strange the brat was strong, and was gradually becoming unbearable. Nevertheless− "Who's the shameless one, you little stalker?!"

Krory meanwhile had seen it fit to fade into the background; it looked like there might still be some hope for him after all. Not that Tyki cared or anything, really.

"Stalker?" Road repeated in seeming surprise, looking back up at Allen now.

Allen meanwhile smiled brightly; the smile was so fake it nearly made Tyki nauseous. But yeah, the stalker thing; Tyki could definitely use that – to muddy the waters if for nothing else.

"This guy's been following me all over Europe," Tyki explai−Well, _complained_. "Like, I tried to cheat him out of some money once, and now he won't leave me alone! I go to a new place, he shows up, I go to another place, he shows up. I manage to lose him for a couple of weeks and next thing I know, he shows up, hires me as a goddamned babysitter and drags me all the way to Germany!"

Road looked from Allen to Tyki and then back again. "Is it true?"

"It's true," Allen gleefully admitted. "Although he did leave out the part where I had him strip down to his underwear."

That was back in the old timeline, but Tyki still buried his face in his hands, mortified.

"Why?" Road asked, sounding honestly intrigued, and Tyki thought, oh God, fuck no.

"Because he was a bit mean to a friend of mine," Allen said, with a positively sunny disposition. "But I've mostly forgiven him for that, because he helped break me out of prison once."

Oh boy.

"Why were you in prison?" Road asked. "And why would Tyki help you?"

Oh damn.

"I will tell you," Allen said, smiling down at her. "But not here."

Road glanced Tyki's direction, no doubt taking in his expression. "I have a place," she finally said, more serious now.

"Then we'll go there," Allen agreed. "But before that…"

He turned his head, glancing towards a nearby clocktower. "I've got a small matter to deal with."

 **-o0oOo0o-**

Said 'small matter' proved to be a quiet chat with a skittish-looking Krory, likely to relay some type of instructions on how to proceed from here.

Tyki did not know what Allen had said, and frankly, he did not really care either; he was far more apprehensive about what Allen could possibly intend to do about Road.

Even so, he tagged along as Allen steered them towards the city gates, knowing well that even if he ran now, it would hardly be the end of it. Besides, while apprehensive, Tyki _was_ also undeniably curious as to how Allen intended to bring Road over to their side of things.

So, when they got out just in time to sense a citywide barrier slamming into place, Tyki kept a wary eye on things.

"Innocence," Road noted, and her voice had a rather dangerous edge to it.

"It's not the Heart," Allen said, offering up a mild shrug. "Trust me."

The boy's behaviour didn't exactly inspire a whole lot of trust, but… with things having gone this far already, Tyki figured he might as well put in a word for him. "Trust him," Tyki said. "Failing that, at least listen to what we've got to say first, okay?"

 **-o0oOo0o-**


End file.
